Coast Guard rescues 17 from abandoned Chinese cargo ship

Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has rescued all 17 crew members from the China-registered cargo ship Yu Zhou Qi Hang after the captain abandoned the vessel, which had lost its ability to navigate due to severe weather and heavy loading.

According to the CGA, the ship, which left Keelung at 7:57 a.m. Tuesday for Zhangzhou in southeastern China's Fujian Province, was found stalled under unusual conditions 2.4 nautical miles north-northwest of Cape Yehliu in northern Taiwan three hours later.

The ship, which was carrying three gantry cranes and was affected by strong winds and the outer rim of approaching Typhoon Kong-rey, was unable to depart the area and gradually drifted closer to the shore near Yehliu, the CGA said.

Rescue units dispatched tugboats to the scene, the CGA said, but they had to turn back due to rough sea conditions.

The captain of Yu Zhou Qi Hang (鈺洲啟航) decided abandon the ship that evening as the wind and rain intensified, and the Coast Guard dispatched a 100-tonne patrol boat to rescue the crew members, returning them safely to Keelung Port by 10:05 p.m. Tuesday night.